Around 10 million people take the Paris Métro each day. But few of them know that — in addition to being a means of transportation — this subway is a formidable time-machine: hop on and delve into the history of the city of light.
Adapted from a French author’s eponymous book, this documentary series invites us to explore 2 000 years of the capital’s history, using the Parisian subway. Indeed, each station has its share of treasures and reveals a lot about the town’s past: the origins of Lutetia, the building of the Sorbonne, the Louvre’s construction, etc. Metronome takes us on a delightful journey while paying a nice tribute to Paris.
Combining stunning 3D footage and historical reenactments, this 4-part documentary series accurately brings back to life the capital’s past. Thanks to its cinematographic quality, we are totally immerged in the streets of this (not entirely) bygone Paris.
By mixing reports, anecdotes, sequences of historical reconstitution with beautiful computer-generated images that make us live the past, the Metronome is a documentary for the general public, with a light tone where it is pleasant to learn while being entertained and to discover two millennia of history of Paris.
Episode 1 : From the Ist to the Vth century (from Gallics to Clovis)
Episode 2 : from the VIth century the year 1000 (from Merovingians to Vikings)
Episode 3 : From the XIth to the XVth century (from Robert le Pieux to Joan of Arc)
Episode 4 : From the XVIth to the XXth century (From the Renaissance to nowadays)
Direction: Fabrice Hourlier
Production: Froggies Media & Indigènes & Carpo 16 for France Télévisions & TV5 Monde with the support of RATP